Realistic or over the top HDR?

HDR is with us to stay, whether you admire it or hate it, HDR has a place in photography, but at what lengths should we go? I have studied HDR for a while now, I suppose more so for the past 4 months since my PC gave up the ghost and unable to do any work! but I'm told it should be up and running by next week! Hurrah.
I found an interesting topic on HDR on the [link=http://www.sekonic.com/Classroom/Webinars/ArchivedWebinars.aspx]Sekonic site[/link], which has two 1 hour webinars on the subject and found them most helpful, as I'm sure others will. Joe Brady, who is a good photographer takes you through it, as he does for quite a few other webinars on various photographic subjects and I would recommend anyone watching them.
So, for those non believers of HDR out there, please take a look and see what you think, especially when HDR is done sympathetically, as Joe Brady did.
Stephen

HDR is with us to stay, whether you admire it or hate it, HDR has a place in photography, but at what lengths should we go? I have studied HDR for a while now, I suppose more so for the past 4 months since my PC gave up the ghost and unable to do any work! but I'm told it should be up and running by next week! Hurrah.

I found an interesting topic on HDR on the Sekonic site , which has two 1 hour webinars on the subject and found them most helpful, as I'm sure others will. Joe Brady, who is a good photographer takes you through it, as he does for quite a few other webinars on various photographic subjects and I would recommend anyone watching them.

So, for those non believers of HDR out there, please take a look and see what you think, especially when HDR is done sympathetically, as Joe Brady did.
Stephen

Just another tool in the photographers armoury like blending, dodging and burning ... etc. I do not even bother mention the fact that an image has been created using HRD these days. Thanks for the links.

Just another tool in the photographers armoury like blending, dodging and burning ... etc. I do not even bother mention the fact that an image has been created using HRD these days. Thanks for the links.

Even though I have had my digital camera for almost 4 years I am still working as in The Dark Ages.
Make the most of a single exposure, if the camera has not managed to cope with the dynamic range of the light then so be it and just throw it away.
However, Lightroom 4 is quite good at recovering highlight & shadow details, so for my type of photography that is sufficient :)

Even though I have had my digital camera for almost 4 years I am still working as in The Dark Ages.

Make the most of a single exposure, if the camera has not managed to cope with the dynamic range of the light then so be it and just throw it away.

However, Lightroom 4 is quite good at recovering highlight & shadow details, so for my type of photography that is sufficient

As Mike says it is just another tool, if there is a challenging dynamic range I will quite often bracket shots to cover the full range and not think twice about putting it through a HDR process if I think it will benefit...
But they'm my pictures and I will do waht I want with them and encourage anyone else to do the same, if you like the result then that is what matters :)

As Mike says it is just another tool, if there is a challenging dynamic range I will quite often bracket shots to cover the full range and not think twice about putting it through a HDR process if I think it will benefit...

But they'm my pictures and I will do waht I want with them and encourage anyone else to do the same, if you like the result then that is what matters

I got into HDR a few years ago and as much as i loved it at the time, i look back now and wonder what i was thinking with some of the images. That said, some HDR can be amazing and really enhance an image if used properly.
Not everyone is going to love it and some will hate it regardless, but its like any other form of art. Whether its impressionism, cubism, surrealism or expressionism, some will/can only appreciate realism

I got into HDR a few years ago and as much as i loved it at the time, i look back now and wonder what i was thinking with some of the images. That said, some HDR can be amazing and really enhance an image if used properly.

Not everyone is going to love it and some will hate it regardless, but its like any other form of art. Whether its impressionism, cubism, surrealism or expressionism, some will/can only appreciate realism

I am a great believer in (natural looking) HDR but actually find myself using it less than I used to, because my D7000 seems to capture a greater dynamic range than my previous cameras. I frequently find in Lightroom, that bringing down the sky (or other bright areas) reveals significant detail which I'm sure would have been lost on earlier models.
Regardless of dynamic range though, I do like the additional detail a well processed HDR seems to reveal.
Ian

I am a great believer in (natural looking) HDR but actually find myself using it less than I used to, because my D7000 seems to capture a greater dynamic range than my previous cameras. I frequently find in Lightroom, that bringing down the sky (or other bright areas) reveals significant detail which I'm sure would have been lost on earlier models.

Regardless of dynamic range though, I do like the additional detail a well processed HDR seems to reveal.

I know from personal experience with HDR, I cringe at some of the stuff I have come out with. But, I think if HDR is done in a less drastic way, the images can look fantastic and you would never know it had been through HDR processing. Surely, if you can improve your images why not do it?
Stephen

I know from personal experience with HDR, I cringe at some of the stuff I have come out with. But, I think if HDR is done in a less drastic way, the images can look fantastic and you would never know it had been through HDR processing. Surely, if you can improve your images why not do it?
Stephen

HDR is just another tool, as mentioned. Whatever the tool, it will be overdone on the premise that more is better....just look at the number of over sharpened, over saturated and under contrasted images you see daily. Natural is just an opinion rather than a reality now, as so much is altered from what was actually there.
If it improves a picture, then fine, but it should improve it and not be an end in itself.
Nick

HDR is just another tool, as mentioned. Whatever the tool, it will be overdone on the premise that more is better....just look at the number of over sharpened, over saturated and under contrasted images you see daily. Natural is just an opinion rather than a reality now, as so much is altered from what was actually there.

If it improves a picture, then fine, but it should improve it and not be an end in itself.

[quote]Horrific images have nothing to do with HDR
terrible processing is the issue - not the technology
it's very very easy to f**k up a single shot, and looking through the galleries, many people do ;-)[/quote]
+ 1

Quote:Horrific images have nothing to do with HDR

terrible processing is the issue - not the technology

it's very very easy to f**k up a single shot, and looking through the galleries, many people do